


Ardor

by Sersi



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Kink, Explicit Language, M/M, Power Dynamics, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 22:28:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15471492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sersi/pseuds/Sersi
Summary: A study of the relationship between Muguruma Kensei and Hisagi Shūhei. Warning: If you don't like feelings with your porn, you're going to be sorely disappointed with this one.





	1. reunion.

The first time that Shūhei Hisagi seen Muguruma Kensei on the battlefield, he was stunned. A slew of faces he’d never seen in his life, colorful characters with varying tastes in clothing appeared in the sky. Among them, he saw the face of the man he’d dedicated his life to. The face of the man he took the Shin’ō entrance exam thrice for. Even with the searing pain running down his lithe torso, he forced his eyes to open to stare at the hard-bodied figure of the man that once scolded him for crying. The man that told him to hold his head up high and to smile with a paralyzing, fanged grin that put Kuchisake-onna to shame. Once militaristic, the man was like a sleeping tiger laying dormant, waiting to use his raw, brute strength on prey he deemed fit for his incisors to sink into. Staring up at his well-built figure, the pain was merely in the background. 

Hirako Shinji spun his hat on his index finger with a toothy smile on his face, empty hand positioned on his waist. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other!” The blond sang, tipping his head back and to the side, allowing his brown eyes to twinkle at the sight of the remaining Gotei present to fend off Aizen’s besiege. 

The former Captain stopped twirling his hat. “Does anyone have somebody they’d like to say ‘ello to in the 13 squads?” 

Hiyori immediately answered with a loud snarl, folding her tiny arms over her chest. “Nope!” 

Shinji glanced over to the other blonde and glared at her, brow pointing downwards. “Shut the hell up, Hiyori! I wasn’t talking to you!” 

Hiyori growled low in her throat and stamped her feet in the air, balling her hands into small fists. “Whaddya mean y’ ain’t talkin’ t’ me?! Y’ asked everyone! Ain’t I everyone?!” 

Love turned his head, shades hiding his eyes. “M’ good.” Rose flicked his golden hair over a single shoulder and closed his eyes. “Me too.” 

Mashiro used her hand as a makeshift visor to shield her eyes from the sun as she looked around for a bright orange head of hair. Her eyes wobbled sadly and she poked out her lips in a childish pout. “Berry-tan isn’t here, is he? Why nooo~t?” 

After a considerable amount of time looking over the members of the Gotei 13 currently available, Hachigen exhaled through his large nostrils. “There is no one...in the 13 Squads I’d like to greet.” 

Lisa was silent as she scanned the field for any faces she recognized. Her former Captain wasn’t wearing pink. Spotting his long brown hair and the flower accessories he wore to clasp his ponytail, Lisa ‘disappeared’ in an instant. 

And finally, Kensei picked his head up and answered in his deep, smooth baritone following Hachi’s observation: “Me neither.” 

All at once, the pain in Hisagi’s chest became steadily more apparent and the blood soaking his sleeveless Shihakushō ran cold. He swallowed the forming, painful lump in his throat and he closed his eyes. His pain was coming back ten times harder now. His flesh was torn and his arms were heavy after wielding Kazeshini for longer than he’d have liked. His heart was hurting in a constant pang that thrummed against his chest cavity. The pain was like a searing hot knife carving into him in his most vulnerable state. He was afraid, he was dying, and on top of that, he was beginning to feel empty all over again. It's not like Kensei recognized him, right? 

Hell, the older man didn't even look in his direction. 

With his eyes closed, Hisagi slowly tipped his head back against the rubble and accepted that his body wouldn’t move an inch until he had medical attention. And considering the long list of injuries that Izuru was tending to before him, that was going to take an even longer time. 

Kazeshini cracked, returning to his sealed form. 

Hisagi gave in and allowed his injuries to pull him into the darkness. 

“Hh…”

_…_


	2. give up.

The first time that Muguruma Kensei acknowledged Hisagi Shūhei, he was being reinstated as the 9th’s Captain. His eyes were glued to the stone-faced lieutenant standing a foot’s length behind him with his hands folded behind his back one over the other. The frown on the young man’s face was deep and seemingly permanent. Muguruma kept his comments to himself until the brief ceremony came to a close.

As Kensei turned on his heel to leave, he paused at the sight of Hisagi Shūhei kneeling with his head pointed at the floor. Kensei tipped his head in one direction with his hands folded over his barrel chest. Black-coffee colored eyes scanned his young Lieutenant thoroughly. From the sleeveless Shihakushō to the tattoos adorning his face. A thick line from his cheek over the bridge of his nose and the very familiar ‘69’ an inch below that. He quirked a brow at the three long scars going down the opposite side of his Lieutenant’s face.

He remembered this person.

* * *

_During the war, he swung those massive two-headed scythes down on Tōsen’s monstrous final form and cut Tōsen and Komamura’s battle short._

_Kensei watched from his perch with a wounded Mashiro as Tōsen attempted to speak his final words to his former Lieutenant and his wolf-man friend. And the moment that Tōsen attempted to touch Hisagi’s face, he was obliterated. The monster otherwise known as Aizen wasn’t going to allow Tōsen to reconcile his feelings with trash._

_The look in Hisagi’s eyes that day said everything for him._

* * *

Kensei made a gruff noise that rasped in his throat. 

“Haa?” 

“Captain, I’ll be taking my leave here. I have several errands to attend to. Please do not hesitate to summon me for anything.” Shūhei was one of the first to exit the room, flash stepping out of view to complete his daily chores. 

Kensei blinked. 

_Huh?_

As the captains poured out of the room, Shinji playfully nudged a pointed elbow against Kensei’s side as he passed him and Kensei dragged his feet to a turtle’s pace to walk beside Kyōraku Shunsui. 

Shunsui was withstanding the urge to yawn in front of the Captain-Commander. As soon as he was out of the meeting place, he rudely tipped his head back and yawned, to the disapproval of his other half, Ukitake Jūshirō. The white-haired man with a significantly younger appearance than his counterpart tossed a pointed glare in his direction. “Kyōraku!”

Shunsui wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and smiled at Jūshirō, purring like a big cat. “Jū-chan, I’m _tired_.” His only excuse. 

“I told you not to call me that!” Ukitake chided Shunsui like he was a young child with a thin wrist and small hand he used to ‘chop’ the drunkard on the back of his head. Breaking his focus, Ukitake smiled at the brawny, silver-haired Captain on Shunsui’s other side. “Welcome back, Kensei-san!” Jūshirō greeted warmly, tucking stray strands of snowy hair behind an ear. Without trying, the 13th Captain was always pleasantly attractive. 

“Do you need something?”

Kensei’s eyebrow twitched as he looked at his two seniors. Their happiness didn’t necessarily affect him but that didn’t mean he wasn’t irked by the two whole minutes he was waiting to be acknowledged by them. “The 9th Lieutenant. Can you tell me anything about him?”

Shunsui stopped walking and out of habit, Ukitake did the same. The two captains shared a look before smiling at Kensei. Stuffing his hands into the sleeves of his haori to keep warm, Ukitake cleared his throat. “Shūhei Hisagi-kun. He was Tōsen’s lieutenant and the acting 9th Captain after…” A pained look tainted pretty features and Shunsui squeezed one of Ukitake’s shoulders with a hairy hand. “Shūhei-kun’s a very hard worker. Always busy. It’s inspiring.” Kyōraku closed his eyes and poked his lips out playfully. “ _Aaah_ , I wish I could work like that.”

The pained look on Jūshirō’s face vanished and he straightened his hand to ‘chop’ Kyōraku on his _big_ forehead. “You _should_ be working like that!” 

Kensei’s shoulders tensed and a bead of sweat formed at his brow. Watching these two was like watching a boring comedy duo with a skit many years overdue. Unfunny, unrelatable, and- “Did you say Hisagi?” 

Jūshirō was tucking his hands back into the sleeves of his haori as the question was posed. “Yes, Kensei-san. His name is Hisagi. Written with the characters for ‘helpful’, ‘cypress’ and-” 

“I don’t need to know that.” Kensei deadpanned. 

Batting his dark lashes, Jūshirō flicked his hair out of his eyes. “I see.”

Shunsui grabbed both of Ukitake’s slender shoulders and guided him down the long hall. “We’ll be seeing you. Congratulations on your reinstatement, Kensei-kun. Domo.” The old drunkard purred and pushed Ukitake despite his objections. “Another time, Kensei-san!” Ukitake slipped his hand out of his haori to wave at Muguruma before disappearing down the hall with Kyōraku.

Kensei nodded his head and allowed the two older men to take their leave. He placed a hand on the railing and squeezed, making his palm sting. 

“I feel like I’ve heard the name Hisagi before…”

Kensei’s memories leading up to the night that his life changed forever were blurry. Every time he tried to recollect the events in their proper order, his Inner Hollow refused and growled at him like a beast below the subsurface waiting for the moment that his needy human begged him for power. He didn’t _want_ to dig up old bones or shake salt on the wounds. Instead, he wanted to push forward and suffocate any signs of life from the former Muguruma. Those memories weren’t in any way valuable to the monster inside of him. 

Whenever Kensei closed his eyes he saw short, spiky hair. He smelled death and remembered a kid with a face full of tears. He remembered the way he ordered him to stop crying, and the way Shinobu remarked that his smile was frightening and he was trying _too_ hard to appeal to a traumatized adolescent. 

The crying face was blank. 

He didn’t see any defining features in his memory. Hell, he hardly remembered Shinobu. At this point, the other man was like a long-forgotten, throwaway character in Kensei’s life. 

He recalled that he’d asked the kid his name, but the answer he was hearing from his ‘memory’ was warbled and hard to hear like he was very, very far away. 

_Give up._

The gravelly voice of his Inner Hollow took him from his thoughts and the silver-haired Captain shook his head to shelf his memories for a later time. 

Kensei turned to look in the direction that Hisagi flash-stepped and brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head. 

“Hisagi Shūhei…”

_..._


	3. cry.

Muguruma Kensei groaned at the stack of paperwork on his desk and massaged his temples with both index and middle fingers to buffer out a painful migraine. He didn’t want to do all of this. He’d usually leave this type of stuff to his subordinates, namely Hisagi Shūhei. Unfortunately for him, Shūhei wasn’t present. After the war with the Quincies and the removal of the nasty birds raining down on the Seireitei, he heard that the Captain-Commander was going to be confronting Aizen with members of the punishment force. The man was currently up for reincarceration. 

And while Hisagi was currently at the 4th getting his wounds treated, Kensei had a feeling that his Lieutenant was going to be making his way out of the infirmary very soon.

* * *

Hisagi arrived on the tail end of Kyōraku and Aizen’s conversation, merely hearing the last of Aizen’s most recent taunt.

“...Are you afraid that a conversation with me will evoke memories of treacherous Shinigami? Like Kaname Tōsen?” 

Wounded with cuts, gashes, and scrapes that were likely to become new scars, the bandaged Hisagi Shūhei sucked in a sharp breath of air and screamed until his lungs stung. “ _Stop screwing around!!_ ” He limped over to the Captain-Commander and the punishment force, his dark eyes appearing black as nasty thoughts clouded his judgment. 

Aizen’s harassment started slowly, gradually building the longer he was given the chance to speak to Hisagi Shūhei. 

Aizen used every opportunity he could between being questioned by Kyōraku to antagonize Hisagi. He taunted him and repeatedly aimed for the jugular with his every comment. The wound was fresh and Aizen wanted to dig his fingers into the slit and make Hisagi cry like a newborn infant. 

Hisagi held many personal grudges and everything that had happened on the battlefield that day made his body shake in a way that was a mix of repulse and exasperation. His eyes narrowed up at Aizen, and the brunet gave Hisagi a thin, wry smile with tawny eyes. 

“Are you trying to say that m— Captain Tōsen bent his conviction because of your words?” Hisagi spat the question like he was afraid that his tongue was corroding from the acid. He balled his hands into fists, squeezing his fingers beneath his thumbs. 

“Do not speak in such a _strange_ manner, Hisagi Shūhei.” Aizen remained calm, even though Hisagi was exposing his anger and by relation his weakness, to him. “Are you wondering when Tōsen changed his mind? When his _morals_ began to contort and his words stopped reflecting the feelings in his heart?” 

Aizen scoffed sarcastically and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Kaname Tōsen was my subordinate _long_ before you became a Shinigami.” 

“...!” 

Kyōraku placed an arm in front of Hisagi’s body to stop him from moving any further. The eye that wasn’t covered by an eyepatch was slow but the look the brunet gave the younger Shinigami was stern “Shūhei-kun, I know that you feel very strongly about this situation, but I need you to calm down.” The look in Shunsui's eyes was tired; _exhausted_. He was talking to Aizen for a reason.

Aizen never moved an inch, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Hisagi like he’d hit the nail on the head. This was very fun for a man that had been in solitary confinement. 

“He was a commendable man, through and through! You could never understand anything about him because you’re disgusting!”

He practically reached his hands over Kyōraku’s chiding arm, wanting to grab Aizen by his head and—

“He stood for justice!” Tears formed in Hisagi’s eyes like big, wet marbles staining his marked cheeks. “He taught me everything I believe in! He told me that I wasn’t different for being afraid!” For a very long time in his life, Hisagi couldn’t wield his sword due to the fear of hurting his comrades. 

One small mistake could mean scars, physically and mentally, for every member of a party.

The three long scars going down one side of his face were a reminder embedded into his skin that he _failed_ his classmates. He wasn’t strong enough, and for a long time, he believed he’d never be. 

“You wouldn’t understand that, Aizen! You—” 

This time, the person that stopped Hisagi wasn’t Kyōraku. 

The 9th Captain appeared with a swift flash step behind his subordinate, wordlessly opening and closing his hands to stretch before he made his move. “Keh-” Kensei cuffed his arms under Hisagi’s and pulled him back into his broad chest, placing his palms on the back of his Lieutenant’s skull, restraining him. “That’s **enough** , Shūhei!” 

Hisagi’s eyes widened and he tried to turn his head to look at the person that was holding him back. The keyword here is ‘tried’ seeing as he couldn’t move his head at all. Instead, he attempted to tick his eyes to the far left and a threatening growl rolled low in his throat as he tried pulling his arms out of Kensei’s hold. The 9th Captain tightened his hold and pulled Hisagi back a second time, making the younger Shinigami grunt from the pain of bandaged wounds threatening to re-open. Hisagi’s eyes widened as he struggled against his Captain. “Hhh! G-get off of me!” He exclaimed, earning a surprised glance from Kyōraku. Hisagi wasn’t the type of subordinate to disrespect his superiors. 

And without a warning, Kensei flash-stepped away with Hisagi in tow. 

Aizen’s smile lines creased and he flicked the hair from his forehead, his usual stoic expression returning to his features. 

Kyōraku slowly exhaled through his nostrils and adjusted his Sugegasa straw-hat, tilting the accessory down over his eyes.

* * *

Kensei brought himself and Hisagi back to the 9th, resisting the _urge_ to toss his Lieutenant into the office. He didn’t want his injuries to worsen. 

Slowly unwinding his arms from Hisagi’s, the silver-haired Captain released his raven-haired subordinate. “What the hell were you doing back there, Shūhei?” Kensei slowly walked over to his desk and leaned against a corner, folding his arms one over the other, accentuating his rugged physique. Hisagi didn’t answer, keeping his head bowed downwards to glare at the floor. “You were in 4th, weren’t you? Why would you buck at Aizen, of all people, looking like this?!” Kensei raised his voice and tried his best not to emote at the sight of Hisagi flinching and hunching his shoulders as he was being scolded. One of his silvery brows quirked downwards and he stared at Hisagi in silence for a few seconds before he closed his eyes to continue. 

“He may be a prisoner but there’s a time and place for everything, Shūhei. Believe me, I want to knock the taste of his mouth and make him swallow his teeth.” Kensei balled his hand into a fist, looking at the hardened, gloved digits with a grim expression on his face. “There’s a procedure for everything up here. That’s _one_ thing I remember.” Captain Muguruma looked over to his Lieutenant and winced at the look on his face. 

Hisagi was hurting. He didn’t like to talk about his feelings; everything he said to Aizen spilled out of him! He didn’t want to scream at Aizen, he didn’t want to grab him with his hands cuffed. He wasn’t that type of person. The part of his brain for common sense stopped working the moment he heard the name ‘Kaname’ out of Aizen. A man that has been imprisoned, unfit to see the sun, still had a silver tongue. 

This was the first time that Kensei had to deal with a subordinates ‘emotions,’ too. He ran his Squad with an iron fist. He spoke to everyone like soldiers. He wasn’t a pansy, and he didn’t want to be. 

Still, there was a feeling in his gut that was telling him to talk to Hisagi. Properly. 

Heaving a sigh, he slowly placed his hands on the edge of his desk and placed one leg over the other, leaning leisurely. “Shūhei, look at me.” 

Slowly, the raven tipped his head up in the direction of his Captain’s face. 

“You need to heal. You were injured in the encounter with Ywach. I can’t have your body shutting down on me.”

Hisagi’s eyes were burning. He knew that tears were threatening to come out of them for the second time and he brought his hands up to cover them, pressing the bottom of his palms against his eyes. 

“After you heal up, I’ll train with you.”

That made Hisagi slide his hands down enough to see the genuine smirk on Kensei’s face and the glint in his darker brown eyes. There was a pang in his heart that wasn’t like the others. Hisagi slowly dropped his hands to his sides, courageously looking at his Captain’s face even though he’d been disrespecting him a few minutes earlier. 

“On one condition...” 

Kensei started, pushing his hands against the desk and standing up straight. He slowly walked over to his Lieutenant and clamped his hand on one of his shoulders. 

Hisagi yelped! 

“Shit, sorry.” 

He quickly pulled his hand back. “Back on topic: I’ll train with you _if_ you promise me that we’ll talk more.”

The shorter of the two men tipped his head to the side at his Captain’s words, the bandages on his neck crinkling. Kensei blinked his eyes once or twice and slowly placed his hands on his own hips as he looked at his subordinate. “To clarify, I want to _know_ about any beef you have. I want to _know_ that there’s someone you want to punch out.” Hisagi made another face, and Kensei rolled his eyes. “I know everyone wants to take a turn pummelin’ Aizen. And I know that’s the thought you’re having right now but that’s not what I’m trying to say.”

Just standing here, Kensei said more to Hisagi than he had ever said to the younger man. 

This ‘communication’ stuff’s a mess. 

“Look, we don’t…”

Kensei began nervously palming at the nape of his neck, looking at the hardwood floor for any signs of an answer. 

“We’re Captain and Lieutenant...and we don’t talk.” 

Hisagi looked at Muguruma with both eyes now, a little like those words convinced him to pay more attention to the other man. He rolled his shoulders, wincing softly under his breath as he straightened his posture. “I didn’t know you wanted-”

“Why the hell wouldn’t I want to talk to you? A Captain and his Lieutenant should, at the very least, know each other.” He hadn’t gotten Shinji to tell him the entire story of Aizen’s betrayal. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten the very beginning of the story, but Shinji was always quick to tell him that the reason he failed at keeping an eye on Aizen was that he _wasn’t_ keeping an eye on Aizen. He did not like his Lieutenant, and for that, he may have been the very reason their little ‘family’ was created. Not that Kensei disliked his family. At this point threatening Mashiro was a habit. He’d never follow up his words with actions. 

The younger of the two’s eyes softened and his long, dark lashes hooded his dark gray eyes. 

“I know you.”

Muguruma was taken from his thoughts abruptly at the sound of Hisagi’s voice. “What was that?” He asked, for clarification. 

Hisagi thought that Kensei was making fun of him, and tried his darnedest not to glare at his Captain. With a face like his, he didn’t necessarily have to glare to be accused of glaring, though. 

“...I said I know you.” 

Kensei rolled his eyes. “Getting my tattoo on your face doesn’t mean you know me, Shūhei.”

Hisagi’s usually pale face turned a bright shade of red and he quickly turned his head to avoid eye contact with his Captain. “That’s not what I meant…” He mumbled through uncharacteristically pouty, puckered lips. While Hisagi remembered the day that Kensei saved his life and seeing the ‘69’ branded on his abdomen as his Shihakushō slid open, he was referring to the short time he’s spent as Muguruma’s lieutenant. It’s not any fault of the younger man’s that his Captain rarely asked him to do anything. He was almost always busy doing chore after chore, finding his friends gifts to their tastes and editing the Seireitei Communication; Kensei calmly told his subordinate that a Newspaper wasn’t his style and he’d usually leave that to lower seats in the squad. _Lower than lieutenant, mind you._

Kensei cupped his face with his hand, covering the scowl on his face. 

He decided to take a page out of Mashiro’s book and offered his pinky to Hisagi, wiggling the tiny digit. “Here. Pinky promise. You’ll head back to 4th, get better and as soon as you can walk a foot without looking like someone’s taken a bat to your shins, we’ll get started on your training.”

With half-lidded eyes, the younger of the two men stared at the proffered pinky with apprehension, his hands close to his own middle as he slackened his shoulders and tried to relax around his Captain. On one hand, he wanted to train with the man that saved his life. On the other, he’d never made a ‘pinky promise’ before. On top of that, making this promise with Kensei would mean he’d have to touch Kensei’s hand. Gulping down his anxiety, Shūhei slowly juts his hand forward to take the Captain’s pinky with his own. 

As soon as their pinkies latched, Kensei grinned toothily and curled his pinky inwards, squeezing Hisagi’s. 

“We’ll get started on your training _and_ we have to talk more.” He reiterated, tacking on the last part knowing that Shūhei wasn’t going to retract his promise by this point. The younger man’s even-handed approach made him vulnerable to people like Kensei or Kazeshini, people looking to swoop in with surprise attacks. 

The blush on Hisagi’s face remained and he glared at the wall behind Captain Muguruma. “Deal.” 

The Captain released Shūhei’s finger victoriously and finally pointed his thumb in the general direction of the 4th. “Now get your ass out of here and get back in bed. If I catch you running around the second time, we’ll throw down then and there. And I never hold back.” 

His threat was empty. Hisagi, not knowing his Captain (Point.), slowly nodded his head in understanding and turned on his heel to limp his way back to the Seireitei infirmary. 

The silver-haired Captain kept his ‘smile’ on his face till Hisagi disappeared from sight and he tore down his trusty ‘get along’ façade. He robotically turned around to walk over to his desk, stopping behind his swivel chair and standing in front of the large window. The sun was setting and the sky was filled with an array of warm colors mixing with blue and purple like unstirred paint. He exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and pressed one of his hands against his chest. His heart was beating at a rapid pace in his ribcage. _Breathe, Kensei._ With a hint of color on his cheeks, Muguruma brought his hand up to press his dry lips to the knuckle of his pinky.

He closed his eyes and held onto their promise until nighttime reminded him to return to his paperwork like a wordless alarm.


End file.
